Following on from Hilton in this series of “Earn & Then Burn!” morning and evening posts, Mr Marriott… you’re up.

Marriott is the largest hotel chain in the United States with 2800 hotels in the US and 67 other countries, and the third largest worldwide.  So for domestic redemptions this is going to give the widest choice.  Like every program, it’s not perfect, that would be impossible but it does have some interesting perks.  Here’s how to earn:

Stay in a hotel of course!  10 Marriott Reward points per $ plus 5 for top elite (Platinum) You can become immediately Platinum by signing up for the Platinum challenge.

Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card - The current offer is for 50,000 Marriott Reward points sign-up bonus, with no minimum spend, no fee for the first year, no foreign transaction fee, and a free night immediately cat 1-4 hotels.  This is a very good deal, not as good as the 70,000 recent offer but if that ever returns in the near future, a tip is to email customer service and ask for an extra 20,000 due to new offer.  It works.  You earn double points on dining, rental car and airline purchases, if you need to accelerate the earn rate.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^SM Card- Although not a Marriott branded card it belongs to the Ultimate Rewards program which is an excellent and flexible program.  Ultimate  Rewards points can be transferred directly to Marriott, British Airways, Hyatt, and United Airlines.  The current offer is for 40,000 bonus points after a $3000 spend.

Chase Mortgage - If you are in the market for one or a refinance, 75,000 Marriott points can be earned.  Obviously this has to be researched very carefully to ensure they offer the absolute best interest rate, which I cannot vouch for in any way.

Hertz Rental Cars - A very good current offer is 35% off AND 2000 Marriott points per rental of 2 days or more.  If possible on a 6 day rental I would split it into 3 bookings to triple up on points.  Not bad and you pay less than retail.

Refer a Friend program - here’s how It works:

• Refer up to 5 new members each calendar year.
• Earn 2,000 Marriott Rewards bonus points for each stay your referrals make beginning with their first paid stay, up to 5 stays per referral.  That’s 50,000 bonus points for you.
• Your friends will also earn 2,000 Marriott Rewards bonus points beginning with their first paid stay, up to 5 stays.  That’s 10,000 bonus points for them, in addition to the base points they’ll earn.
• Stays at any participating hotels qualify, and must be made within 365 days of enrollment.

Deal of the Day

For today’s Deal of the Day TopCashback is donating $50 cash (to be deposited to your TopCashback.com account) for the best overall travel deal submitted. A great mileage run, mistake fare, partner promo, new card sign-up offer, or the special twist you figured out on a deal today. Add it to the comments section of this post (along with your First Name, Last Initial, and Airport Code) or this afternoon’s Deal of the Day post to be eligible to win.